Bala, Patras, Greece, August 14, 2025
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
The Holy Monastery of ST. Nicholas in the Balas area of Patras Municipality caught fire yesterday as wildfires continue to spread across multiple fronts in the wider Sychaina region of Achaia, Greece.
The historic monastery, known locally as Paleomonastiro (Old Monastery), was surrounded and overtaken by the advancing blaze, reports the Orthodoxia News Agency.
Photo: orthodoxianewsagency.gr
Video and photos published by pelop.gr shows the devastating fire consuming the roof of the women's monastery as firefighters, nuns, and volunteers mounted a desperate battle to save the buildings.
The nuns initially mobilized to fight the flames alongside firefighters and volunteers who arrived at the scene, attempting to contain the fire and protect valuable items within the monastery.
Authorities subsequently ordered a preventive evacuation of the monastery, followed by operations to rescue residents and domestic animals trapped in the surrounding area.
Historical Significance
Photo: YouTube
The Monastery of St. Nicholas, situated near the village of Balas at the foothills of Mount Panachaiko at 1,640 feet above sea level, dates back to the late 6th or early 7th century. The monastery has been destroyed and rebuilt multiple times throughout its history, with no written historical records surviving from its early period.
A marble plaque on the northern exterior wall of the main church records the monastery's reconstruction in 1693 by Kalliniki Markadantaina. After falling into ruins during the 18th century—reportedly destroyed by Ottoman forces—the monastery was annexed as a dependency to the Girokomio Monastery in the early 19th century under the name “Paleomonastiro” or St. Nicholas Monastery of Balas, remaining so until 1925.
In 1945, Kalliniki Koitidou, originally from Asia Minor, undertook the restoration of the monastery as a women’s communal monastery. Currently home to eighteen sisters and one novice, the monastery operates workshops for iconography, gold embroidery, and handicrafts. Its treasures include relics of saints, a small piece of the True Cross, and a miraculous icon of St. Nicholas painted in 1933.
The monastery celebrates its feast days three times annually: December 6 (St. Nicholas), May 10 (translation of St. Nicholas’ relics), and May 17 (St. Athanasios of Christianoupolis).
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